In Kazakhstan, when a phone is used on a mobile network for the first time, the IMEI of the phone gets locked to that mobile network and that sim card. When you buy the sim card, they photocopy your passport/ID card.

No other sim will work in it until you take that photo ID/passport to the mobile companies office to have it unlocked. The photo id (even if expired) becomes the unlock code for the phone.

Made phone theft drop to pretty much zero.